Cotton
In the 1750s, cotton became a very popular business in Britain. The raw cotton was brought to Britain from British colonies on boats. At first, families made cotton cloth at home. Later, it was made in factories with machines, first powered by hand, then by water or steam power.
New Lanark Cotton Mill
1784 David Dale was a rich Scottish linen merchant. He wanted to start working in the cotton business. David Dale and Richard Arkwright chose the site of New Lanark for a cotton mill.
1786 Work starts in the cotton mill at New Lanark.
1793 Four mills were making cotton by this point. Dale had 1150 workers. More than 800 of them were children.
What was different about New Lanark?
Most mill owners did not care about their workers. David Dale did care, so he wanted them to be healthy and educated.
Housing Dale built houses for his workers to live in. Many were Highlanders who had been forced to leave their homes to make way for sheep farming.
Education The children could attend school each day for 2 hours, after their shift was finished.
Working Hours 6am – 7pm Believe it or not, these hours were better than most cotton mills at the time!
Mill workers’ housing in New Lanark Schoolroom in New Lanark
Robert Owen
1799 David Dale’s daughter, Caroline, married Robert Owen. Robert Owen was a Welshman who had grown up working in the cloth business. He wanted to improve the health and working conditions of factory workers.
1800 Robert Owen took over the New Lanark Mill and made changes that drew many people’s attention.
We will find out more about the changes Robert Owen made next week!
This Week’s Task
Draw and complete this comparison grid in your jotter: New Lanark Other cotton mills Hours worked
Education
Housing